Plate hanger



C. RICHARDS PLATE HANGER Dec. 9, 1941.

Filed Feb. 25, 1940 Z K F i C 1 Wm Patented Dec. 9, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLATE HANGER Charles Richards, Quincy, Mass.

Application February 23, 1940, Serial No. 320,244

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a plate hanger designed for attachment to a plate for wall decoration and display.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved plate hanger for the purpose specified which may be economically manufactured and is of a simple, durable structure, and which may be used with advantage to support plates of varying sizes, shapes and configurations upon a wall for display and decorative purposes.

With this general object in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the plate hanger hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In general, the present invention contemplates a plate hanger of flexible sheet metal, such as brass, and which consists, essentially, of an elongated supporting member having provision for attachment to the wall, and provided at its lower extremity with one or more forwardly extending hooked portions adapted to hook over the lower portion of the rim of the plate to be displayed. The supporting member is provided with a slide mounted thereon and the latter is provided with a hooked member adapted to hook over the upper portion of the plate. The slidable hook member is yieldingly urged into plate engaging position by at least one, and preferably two, coil springs and the flexibility of the metal support and the hinged feature of the hook with respect to the slide, enable the hanger to conform to the rear surface of plates of any degree of curvature and configuration within the limits for which the plate hanger is designed.

Figure 1 represents a front view of my improved plate hanger.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1, showing plates of several sizes mounted thereupon.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the slide member taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 isa sectional view of the upper hook member taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, l0 represents an elongated supporting member comprising a flexible but relatively still brass strip having its lower end portion provided with diverging plate supporting hook members [2 which are adapted to hook over the lower portion of the periphery of the plate l3 when the supporting member I0 is disposed vertically along the under or rear surface of the plate, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The supporting member ID is preferably elongated sufiiciently to extend above the plate to be supported, and as herein shown, is provided with a hole [8 therein through which a nail or other fastening device l9 may be driven to attach the plate hanger to a wall 20. The supporting strip III has slidably mounted thereon a slide member 22 to which the upper hook member 24 is pivotally secured by the hinge structure 23 to be capable of movement toward and from the supporting strip I0 in order to adapt the hanger to plates of difierent depths, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The slide member 22 may conveniently be made of sheet brass having two clips 26 struck from the body of the member 22 and forming a slideway embracing the supporting strip l0, as illustrated in detail in Fig. 3. The slide member 22 is also preferably provided with cars 28 having holes therein for the reception of the upper ends of coil springs 30, the lower ends of which are attached to the diverging lower hook members I2 through corresponding holes therein. The supporting member may and preferabiy'will be further provided with lugs 32 which form stops to limit the movement of the slide toward the lower hook members under the influence of the coil springs 30.

When assembling the hanger upon a plate, the lower hook members H are hooked over the 10W- er portion of the rim of the plate, and then the slide is manually moved upwardly along the supporting member against the tensionin the coil springs 30 until the pivoted hook 24 passes over the upper portion of the rim of the plate, whereupon the plate is firmly held by the cooperative action of the three hook members being drawn toward each other by the coil springs. In asi sembling the hanger upon plates of various configurations, the flexible supporting member as well as the lower hooks may be flexed, as illustrated in Fig. 2, from full to the dotted lines position to adapt the hanger for use upon plates of varying curvature and depth, and the tension in the springs efficiently holds the hanger upon plates notwithstanding the particular configuration of the plate.

From the above description it will be observed that the present construction of plate hanger may be economically manufactured and that the flexibility of the structure enables it to be successfully used for attachment to varying sizes, styles and depths of plates. The installation of the present hanger may be accomplished with convenience and after installation, the hanger functions to securely hold the plate. Provision of the two springs 30 contributes to balancing their efiect upon the slide 22 and contributes to the ease with Which the slide member 22 may be wall decoration and display comprising a single,

elongated metal strip provided'at its lower end with diverging portions formed integrally therewith, each having a hook member adapted to hook over the rim of the plate being supported,

{a slide member longitudinally slidable on said elongated supporting member, a relatively rigid and non-bendable upper hook member hingedly mounted to the slide member and capable of being rocked toward and from said supporting member to adapt the hook for plates of different depths, means cooperating with the slide member (for yieldingly urging the upper'and' lower hook members toward each otherrand into engagement with the rim of the plate being supported, and means for limiting the movement of said upper and lower hooks toward each other comprising a pair of lugs extending from said supporting member and engageable with said slide member in its lowermost position.

2. A plate hanger for attachment to a plate for wall decoration and display comprising a single thin flat metal strip rectangular in cross-section comprising a supporting member possessing rigidity and limited flexibility and having diverging portions integral therewith formed at its lower end, each portion having a hook member adapted to hook over the rim of the plate being supported, a slide member mounted upon the supporting member and being provided'with portions struck from the slide arranged to embrace said supporting member, a relatively rigid and non-bendable upper hook member hingedly mounted to said slide member and capable of being rocked toward and from said supportingmember to adapt the hook for plates of difierent depths, and means cooperating with the slide member for yieldlngly urging the upper and lower hook memberstoward each other and into engagement withrthe rim of the plate being supported. 7 7

CHARLES RICHARDS.- 

